Man, 23, Convicted Of Pointing Laser Beams At LAPD Helicopter

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A 23-year-old man has been convicted of pointing laser beams at a Los Angeles police helicopter.

The District Attorney’s office said a jury found Floyd Atkins guilty of one felony count of discharging laser at an aircraft.

Atkins was one of two men arrested July 4, 2011 by a helicopter crew trying to pinpoint the location where lasers were flashed at California Highway Patrol and LAPD helicopters several days earlier. When they saw green laser beams coming from a home near the University of Southern California, they arrested the men and found two lasers.

Atkins faces up to three years in county jail when he is sentenced on Aug. 3.

The other man, 21-year-old Alvaro Jimenez, pleaded no contest to the same charge earlier this year.